June 22, 2021 – Today, the Senate Ethics Officer (SEO) submitted his 2020-2021 Annual Report on the administration of the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators (the Code) to the Speaker of the Senate and the Annual Report was tabled in the Senate.
The Annual Report discusses the impact of the pandemic on senators and on the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer (Office). The Office has continued to fulfil its mandate by continuously adapting its practices, tools, and processes to function remotely while allowing senators to remotely fulfil their disclosure obligations under the Code. The pandemic has also impacted senators’ activities and their disclosures.
The SEO has continued to provide advice to senators with a view to preventing conflicts of interest from arising rather than addressing them once they have arisen. The SEO also initiated and completed two preliminary reviews, though moving to the inquiry stage was not warranted for either of these.
The Office fully deployed its new branding which reflects a more dynamic, professional, and responsive organization. The Office’s website was also completely rebuilt. It sports the new Office branding. It is more accessible and informative. It includes a partly searchable new Public Registry. It adds a series of Frequently Asked Questions, and it provides a placeholder for future new guidelines on the interpretation of the Code.
The 2020-2021 Annual Report may be consulted at: https://seo-cse.sencanada.ca/en/reports-and-inquiries/reports/